[The following article is published courtesy of DLRC Press and its authors, Randy Wiley and Bill Bugert. This information was originally published in 1993 in The Complete Guide to Liberty Seated Half Dollars.]

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MINTAGE: 566,000

PROOFS: None.

VARIETIES:

• Authors’ Research Effort: extensive

• Number of Die Marriages Documented: 6

• Number of Head Dies Identified: 5

• Number of Tail Dies Identified: 5

• Number of Collar Reed Counts Identified: 3 (138, 139, 140)

• Standard Diameter or Diameter Range: 1.209 to 1.216 inches

• Number of Major Varieties: 2

• WB-101. LARGE MINTMARK. (4 TAIL DIES)
  Each tail die appears in a single die marriage. Individually, each is rarer than WB- 102. (Breen-4892)
• WB-102. MEDIUM MINTMARK. (1 TAIL DIE)
  This tail die is found paired with two different head dies and it appears quite worn in the second marriage. (Breen-4894)

COMMENTS:

• All 1859-S Liberty Seated Half Dollars examined have been well struck although some WB-102′s appear weak from die wear and abrasion.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• (See [16] page 359.)
• A so-called error coin with the denomination misspelled as “HALE” vice “HALF’ DOL. exists. It is pictured in [161 and [24]. One (same coin?) was sold by a Coin World advertiser in December 1980. From extensive scrutiny of the photograph and second opinions, we believe this coin is actually a plugged and poorly retooled coin from normal dies rather than an error coin. (See [Gobrecht Journal issue 50] page 50.) For additional information on the Guatemala Hoard coins, see the Miscellaneous Notes section at the beginning of this chapter.